Teaching truths, twists, and takeaways: insights from public theological education for times of transition

Abstract

ABSTRACT Theological education finds itself in the midst of transition. In this article, I probe the primary causes of this transition and the possible responses that scholars and practitioners of theological education identify. I then turn to a case study analysis of a public theological education initiative, The Candler Foundry, and argue that community-based theological education has insights to offer theological schools today. By centering attention to truth, twists, and takeaways, public theological education as practiced by my case site models one way of responding to the urgent tasks facing theological education: rethinking the relationship between theological schools and the church, reckoning with the ongoing legacies of slavery and systemic oppression, and reimagining formation. Learning from public theological initiatives like The Candler Foundry can support theological schools and educators in the challenging yet necessary work of shifting away from a posture of crisis management and towards one of discernment, care, and imagination.